`Many for not going to the church pretend that the holy services are too long, inclusively the Holy Liturgy. Is it enough the prayer we make at home?`
The prayer we make at home is very good. But if we don’t love the church, I don’t know what’s its use. I don’t know what we’ll do with our prayer from home. What means that? What would have meant if Noah had made his ship and others had made barrels to save themselves when the deluge was coming. Come on the ship, it is safer.
You won’t make with a board a ship for salvation, you can’t make any ship from a board.
Who doesn’t love the church, who doesn’t love the Holy Liturgy should not deceive himself that he prays at home! I don’t know what spirit teaches him that prayer, if he doesn’t love the Holy Liturgy. Something like that is unacceptable. How can be possible something like this? What kind of prayer is that? The prayer if is righteous and made before God, His Spirit searches the man and the first place where He brings him is the church. `God is in His Holy Place.`(Psalm 10,4) There he will be led if he prays righteously. But if his prayer doesn’t lead him there, sorry, but there are so many who pretend that they pray, only not all who invoke the name of God will be received, Christ tells us.
We should evaluate our prayer in this way : if it leads us in the House of God, where He dwells, where He comes Himself, where He sacrifices Himself, where our brothers pray together – cause where are two or three gathered, He is with them – it means we pray in the spirit of God. We who separated from our brothers from conceit, vanity and disdain how can we draw near the One Who is meek and himble and gave us the command to love each other? The prayer will never come to such people. But there might come with a powerful search revealing to them that they are not making it well, that their thought is not good and make them return to the Church. There we find our salvation because now we have churches thanks God and God offers Himself fully to all those who want Him.
Let us go to the church!
Hieromonk Savatie Baștovoi
Article taken from cuvantincredinta.ro
